Locomotive-engine



No. 626,566. Patented .lune 6, |899. J. E. ROBERTS.

LOGOMUTIVE ENGINE.

(Application led Mar. 10, 1898.) (no Model.) f. 2 sheets-sneer 2.

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`UNTTnD STATES PATENT Fries.

JOHN EDWARD ROBERTS, OF ONEDIA, KENTUCKY.

LOCOMOTIVE-ENGINE.

SPEIFICATIN forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 626,566, dated J' une 6, 1899.

Application ld March 10, 1898. Serial No. 673,381. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN EDWARD ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Onedia, in the county of Clay and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in LocomotiveEngines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters and figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

. Figure 1 of the drawings is a plan view, partly in section, of a portion of a locomotive. Fig. 2 is a side view showing two of the driverwheels and their connections. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through one of the steam-chests. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line :c at, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section on the line 'y y, Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the steam-chest removed and inverted. Fig.7 is a detail perspective view of one of the valves. Fig. S is a horizontal sectional View of a steamchest, showing a modified form of the valves.

This invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements in locomotive-engines of the single-acting type, the objects of the invention being, first, to overcome the jar or quiver of the locomotive which occurs in ordinary double acting locomotive engines upon `the reversal of the valves, especially when running under high pressure; second, to provide means whereby the possibility of dead-centers is avoided, and, third, to utilize the full reactionary force of the steam admitted to the cylinders, and thereby increase the power of the engine with a given pressure of steam. i

l/Vith these objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and combintion of parts, all as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the numerals 1, 2, 3, and 4 designate, respectively, four cylinders, two of which are placed side by side upon each side of the locomotive.

5 designates the front driving-Wheels; 6, the axle thereof; 7, the rear driving-wheels, and 8 their axle.

9, 10, 11, and 12 are the four pistons,which work, respectively, in the cylinders 1, 2, 3, and 4.

13, 14, 15, and 1G designate the respective piston-rods, and 17, 18, 19, and 2O represent, respectively, the four connecting-rods. The rods 17 and 20, which are actuated by the pistons in the two outer cylinders 1 and 4, are connected to the respective cranked ends of the rear driving-wheel axle 8, while the rods 18 and 19 are connected to end cranks of the front drivingaxle 6. The two end cranks of the axle 6 are set at ninety degrees to each other, as are also the cranks of the axle 8, and the two cranks of one axle are respectively at one hundred and eighty dcgrees from the corresponding cranks of the other axle. Said axles are each formed with two intermediate cranks,which are connected by rods 21. From this arrangement of the several cranks it will be seen that the pistons of each pair of cylinders will always be moving in opposite directions to each other and a full stroke apart and that the two pistons at one side will always be at different points of their strokes from the two cylinders at the opposite side.

Supported upon each pair of cylinders is a steam-chest 22 or 23 common to both cylinders, and these chests are each divided by a transverse partition 24 into two compartments. Each chest is supplied with steam by a branch 25 of a branched steam-pipe, having a valve under control of thc engineer and by means of which steam may be let into either compartment of the chests and cut 0E from the other compartment.

Leading from the front compartment of the chest 22 to the forward end portion of the respective cylinders 1 and 2 are steam-feed ports o and b, and leading from the rear compartment of such chest to the rear end portions of the said cylinders are two similar ports ct' and b. The chest 23 has similarlyarranged ports leading from its respective compartments to the cylinders 3 `and 4.

In each compartment of each chest is a valve 28, which is common to both cylinders. These four valves being in all respects duplicates of each other, the description will be confined to the valve which operates the ports o. and

b. This valve consists of a stationary body portion, having the vertical portions f and g therethrough, which are respectively in line with the ports a and b, and of a top slideplate 29, having ports h and h', which are so arranged with respect to each other that when the port h is in line with the port a, the port h' will notregister with the port h, and vice versa. This plate has two depending iianges or wings 30, which work in slots 3l of the valve-body and which are provided with ports 7c and k'. leading from the respective ports f. and g to a common exhaust-chamber 32 are exhaustports Z Z, and the ports 7ck are so positioned with respect to these ports l l that when the port lo is in register with the port Z the port lo will not register with the port Z. The slide-plate 29 is actuated by the usual eccentric-rod, and the two valves of each chest are connected by a rod 34, which extends through a suitably-packed openiugin the partition 24. Said slide-plate may be of the form shown in g, or it may be of the form shown in When the locomotive is running forward, steam is admitted to the forward compartments only of the steam-chests and the operation is as follows: Vhen port h of the valve slide-plate comes in line with the port f,.steam is admitted to the cylinder lin front ofthe piston, the exhaust-port of the said cylinder being closed. The exhaust-port of -cylinder 2 is at this time open, while its feedport g is closed. When the piston reaches the limit of its stroke, the valve reverses, the feed-port of cylinder l is closed, and its exhaust-port is opened, while at the same time the feed-port of cylinder 2 is opened and its f exhaust-port is closed. The same operations take place, of course, at the cylinders 3 and 4, but at different times, corresponding to the dierences in the positions of the cranks.

To reverse the engine, steam is cut off from the forward compartments of the steam-chests and. is admitted into the rear portions thereof. Thus it will -be seen that whether the engine is running backward or forward steam is admitted only to the ends of the cylinders in` the-direction in which the locomotive is running, whereby the full reactionary force of the steam against the cylinder-head is utilized and the jar or quiver which o'ccurs in double-acting engines due to the alternate admission of steam to opposite ends of the cylinders is avoided. It will also be seen that steam is always acting upon two of the pistons, and that inasmuch as the active pistons are always at different points in their strokes dead-centers are entirely overcome. The connection between the front and rear drivingaxlesprevents slipping of the drive-wheels in starting.

Although in the arrangement described it is necessary to operate all four of the sliding valve-plates, while but two of such valves are Intersecting the said slots 3l and y acting at any time, there is no material loss therefrom, since the two idle valves move with but little friction, being free from steampressure.

I do not limit myself to the use of the particular valve mechanism herein shown and described, as various other arrangements thereof may obviously be employed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a locomotive, the combination with the front and rear driving-axles, of the four cylinders, two upon each side, the four pistons, two of which are connected to one of said axles, and the other two to the other axle, one piston upon each side of the locomotive being connected to the same axle, transversely-divided steam-chests, each of which is common to two of said cylinders, ports leading from each compartment of each steam-chest to the corresponding end portion of both cylinders at that side, means for supplying steam to that compartment of each steam-chest which is in the direction of movement of the locomotive, and valves controlling said ports to admit steam alternately to the two cylinders of each pairin a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the locomotive, substantially as specified.

2. In a locomotive, a pair of adjacent cylinders, a piston in each cylinder, one of said pistons being connected with one driving-axle and the other to the other driving-axle, a steam-chest common to both cylinders, and divided transversely into two compartments, means whereby steam may be admitted to either one of said compartments, and shut o from the other Lcompartment, ports leading from each compartment to the corresponding end portions of each cylinder, and a valve in each compartment adapted to control said ports to alternately admit steam to the cylinders in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the locomotive, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with a pair of steamcylinders placed side by side, of a steam-chest divided transversely into two steam-compartments one of which has two steam-ports leading to the rear portions of the respective cylinders, and the other two similar ports leading to the forward portion of said cylinders, a valve located in each of said compartments and consisting of a stationary portion having vertical ports which communicate respectively with the steam-ports leading from that compartment to thek cylinders, an exhaustchamber intermediate of said ports, vertical slots located between the exhaust-chamber and the respective vertical ports, and ports leading from said vertical ports to the exhaust-chamber and intersecting said slots, and a sliding portion having cut-away portions arranged to alternately register with said vertical ports, and also having depending wings ICO IIC)

or anges which engage and reciprocate in said Vertical slots, said Wings or flanges having ports therethrough, together with means for actuating said sliding portion and means whereby steam may he admitted to either one of the Said compartments, substantially as specified. r

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN EDWARD ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

JAS. H. J EFFRIES, D. W. MANNING. 

